Jeff Holtzman and Jill Haas were able to have creative careers and build their businesses thanks to the affordability of their trailer park home. (Photo by Erika Schultz / The Seattle Times)

Seattle trailer park closure another blow to affordable housing

University Trailer Park off Lake City Way will be turned into 89 townhomes, leaving residents struggling to find affordable housing.
Sep 30, 2016
Teachers at "Tiny Trees," run with some of their students in Jefferson Park near their outdoor school. (Photo by Ellen Banner / The Seattle Times)

This affordable outdoor preschool is a breath of fresh air for Seattle

Tiny Trees outdoor preschool is based on a longtime Scandinavian model of education that says there are some things you can only learn outside.
Sep 22, 2016
Jane Kagira owns the Kenyan restaurant Safari Njema in Columbia City, host of the first Migrating Meals conversation. The scenes on the wall mainly are depictions of Kenya. (Photo by Alan Berner / The Seattle Times)

‘Migrating Meals’ puts awkward dinner conversation on the menu

Can delicious food thaw the Seattle Freeze and get people to engage with sensitive subjects? Project Feast's new 'Migrating Meals' program aims to find out.
Sep 9, 2016
Burmese film star turned political activist Kyaw Thu, who is in Seattle this month promoting a film about his life. (Courtesy photo by Myint Myint Khin Pe)

‘Burma’s Brad Pitt’ walks a fine line for political reform

Kyaw Thu, leading man of Burmese film, endured decades of blacklisting and imprisonment in one of the world’s toughest military regimes. He's in Seattle this month to share his story.
Sep 2, 2016
Native artist Louie Gong with blankets he designed and will sell at his new store,"Eighth Generation"opening Saturday in the Pike Place Market. (Photo by Greg Gilbert / The Seattle Times)

Pike Place Market’s new Native-owned shop promises “stereotype busting”

Louie Gong is opening the only Native-owned shop in the Pike Place Market and challenging a legacy of companies profiting off of "Native-inspired" art.
Aug 25, 2016
Street graffiti from one of the first "Buy Nothing" days in 2005. (Photo from Flickr by Resa & Krister)

What I learned from a month of buying nothing: It’s surprisingly easy

We are emotional — and often defensive — about our consumption. But an experiment in buying nothing proves more liberating than challenging.
Aug 19, 2016
Native Education Certificate Program Co-Directors Elizabeth West, left, and Megan Bang, right, lead a group of their students across the Quad at University of Washington, which used to be a Duwamish Village. (Photo by Greg Gilbert / The Seattle Times)

A walk across campus with the UW’s new Native Education Program

The UW's new Native Education Certificate Program is designed to improve the relationships between educators and Native students and families.
Aug 11, 2016

My personal challenge to buy nothing for a month

We’re drowning in needless products and waste in the US, so I’m trying to buy noting for a whole month except for food and toiletries. Join my challenge.
Jul 21, 2016

Helping highly skilled refugees find their niche in Seattle

More skilled refugees are arriving in our state. But they say cultural barriers keep them out of white-collar jobs that could use their talents.
Jul 14, 2016
Cilviana Hernandez (second from left) grew up in a Skagit Valley migrant farmworker family. Now she's part of the film "Every Row a Path" that details the challenges of migrant youth trying to balance work and education. (Photo courtesy Janice Blackmore)

Farmworker filmmakers put Skagit Valley migrant life on screen

The film “Every Row a Path,” which screens in Seattle this weekend, shows the challenges of growing up in the fields as a migrant farmworker.
Jun 24, 2016
Fen Fang Jiang, 72, reads to kids at Pike Market Childcare in the Pike Place Market. Jiang is part of the "Foster Grandparent" program. (Photo by Greg Gilbert / The Seattle Times)

Popular Foster Grandparent program in jeopardy in Washington

A special connection between kids and seniors is being severed as funding dries up for the Foster Grandparents Program that places retirees as helpers in daycares and preschools.
Jun 16, 2016

New fellowship aims to diversify a very white global philanthropy field

There’s no denying the power of purse strings. Those who control money control much of the world. And that’s as true for charity work as it is for politics or business. Here in Seattle, home to powerhouses like the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, we understand the global influence of foundation giving. But despite its […]
Jun 10, 2016
Bishop Kuol leads a prayer with homeless South Sudanese refugees living in the Jungle. (Photo by Sy Beam / The Seattle Times)

The Jungle shows Seattle’s not immune to global poverty

A visit to “The Jungle” alongside a bishop from South Sudan shows our city is not immune to the extreme poverty we usually only associate with other countries.
Jun 2, 2016

Supplies and TLC in ‘baby boxes’ for Syrian refugees

Local knitters and quilters are providing baby boxes for new parents struggling in the largest Syrian refugee camp.
May 27, 2016
Jenny Chen, a resident of Wallingford, has gone missing while backpacking in Mexico. Here, Chen is seen while traveling in Puebla, Mexico, in March. (Courtesy of Jonathan Reinhard)

What do you do when a loved one goes missing abroad?

Frustration with uncooperative embassies and local police are common when Americans go missing abroad.
May 20, 2016
People waiting outside of an aid distribution center at the Dadaab Refugee Camp in Kenya. (Photo from Flickr by Riyaad Minty)

Threats to close world’s largest refugee camp echo in Seattle

In the wake of terrorist attacks, Kenya is threatening to close Dadaab refugee camp. That has Seattle-area refugees worried about family still living there.
May 13, 2016

Strong bonds grow at program for pregnant Somali women

The mysterious underwater rhythm of an in-utero heartbeat is the signature sound of prenatal checkups. When I was pregnant, it was a ritual I looked forward to. Now, four months after the birth of my son, I’m hearing that amazing sound again, but in a very different setting. It’s coming from behind a folding screen […]
Apr 29, 2016

Sherpa documentary examines tragedy and ethics on Mt Everest

The documentary, focusing on the 2014 avalanche that killed 16 Sherpa, takes a look at the global controversy around climbing culture on Mt. Everest.
Apr 22, 2016

From Oprah to Nida’a: Arab world talk show producer to speak at young women’s career day

Spokane-raised Suzanne Hayward will speak Saturday at Young Women Empowered's career day about her work on “Nida’a,” an Arab world talk show.
Apr 15, 2016
A montage of words written in Somali and English, seen on the onecityproject.org website.

A push for Somali language classes at UW

There are currently no formal Somali language classes offered in the entire Northwest, despite a huge Somali diaspora community.
Apr 8, 2016